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Just hours after thousands rallied against a recent string of anti-gay attacks in the city, police announced two more incidents. It brings the total number of attack to five in just two weeks. One victim is speaking out about his ordeal. Gus Rosendale reports.
Gus Rosendale reports. (Published Tuesday, May 21, 2013)

Mayor Bloomberg said at a news conference Tuesday that "New York City has zero tolerance for intolerance."

Thousands March to Denounce Anti-Gay Violence

Thousands marched the streets of Manhattan Monday to protest the killing of a gay man allegedly taunted with homophobic slurs -- the most recent in a spate of bias attacks stirring up anxiety, disbelief and outrage in a famously gay-friendly neighborhood. Gus Rosendale reports. (Published Monday, May 20, 2013)

"We are a place that celebrates diversity ... hate crimes like these are an offense against all we stand for as a city, and we will do everything possible to stop them," Bloomberg added.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the two men in the SoHo attack were walking on Broadway between Prince and Houston streets at about 5 a.m. when two men started yelling anti-gay remarks in English and Spanish. The victims, 41 and 42, are Hispanic.

Anti-Gay Crimes Spike in NYC, Rally Planned to Denounce Violence

Gay activists and supporters shaken by a series of violent attacks, including a fatal shooting in the West Village on Friday, were rallying Monday as statistics show anti-gay crimes have nearly doubled this year. Lori Bordonaro reports. (Published Monday, May 20, 2013)

The men were both punched, and one suffered an eye injury, sources said.

Police said two suspects, 32 and 33, were arrested and face a charge of assault as a hate crime.

In the East Village beating, Kelly said two men who had known each other for about a month were out together in Manhattan on Monday. At some point they began fighting about the victim being gay.

The other man then became "enraged," Kelly said, and hurled anti-gay slurs before he beat him unconscious. In that case, the 39-year-old suspect, who is homeless, was arrested and charged with felony assault and aggravated harassment as hate crimes, among other offenses.

Dan Contarino, the victim, told NBC 4 New York he thought the recent spate of attacks have to do with "society changing quickly" as gay marriage becomes legal in more states, causing people with "repressed anger" to lash out.

"I'm very lucky," said Contarino. "I could be 6 feet under right now."

The Empire State Pride Agenda said in a statement Tuesday that "enough is enough."

"No more violence. We won't stand for it as a community or as a city," said Nathan Schaefer, executive director.

On Monday evening, gay activists and supporters marched to condemn the death of 32-year-old Mark Carson in Greenwich Village, and several other attacks on gays in recent weeks.

Carson was killed Saturday as he walked with a companion through the Village. Police say a man charged with murder as a hate crime shot Carson in the head.

Officials said Monday that police would increase their presence there and in nearby neighborhoods through the end of June, Gay Pride Month.

Police say there has been a rise in anti-gay crimes overall so far this year, to 24 from 14 during the same period last year.

Kelly said police believe bias crimes are actually underreported, but said there is one theory that the NYPD gets more reports of them after a high-profile case is in the news.